My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 50 Recommendation Collision
Xu Zijiang and his brother Xu Jing held a monthly appraisal in Runan to evaluate famous people. Objectively speaking, although there was a lot of hype involved, it did provide a channel for some people from humble backgrounds to gain fame.

Even Cao Cao was pleased with himself after receiving the assessment from Xu Zijiang that he was "a hero in times of peace, and a treacherous villain in times of chaos."

This demonstrates the immense influence of the Xu brothers' monthly critiques.

It would be difficult for an ordinary person to even get a glance from Xu Zijiang, let alone receive his comments. Yet this Liu Ye managed to get Xu Zijiang to take the initiative to evaluate him, and even bestowed upon him the praise of being a talent capable of assisting the world.

Although this was partly due to his dependence on others, Liu Ye's talent has been proven by later generations.

This demonstrates Xu Zijiang's keen insight.

Unfortunately, Xu Zijiang had already fled before the new year to join Liu Yao, and he died this year.

Otherwise, if Liu Bei could recruit this man into his ranks and make him a role model, his value would be immense.

Thinking of this, Liu Feng's heart stirred. Xu Zijiang was going to die this year. Could he think of a way to make something of it?
Liu Feng was pondering his own scheme when Liu Bei suddenly burst into laughter, interrupting his thoughts.

Looking up, he saw Lu Su opposite him also looking puzzled, not understanding why Liu Bei, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, had suddenly lost his composure.

“Zijing, you don’t know this, but I already know Liu Ye’s name. The carriage to recruit him has already set off, but it hasn’t returned yet because of the long journey. However, it is still unknown whether Ziyang is willing to assist me.”

Liu Bei's face showed a smug look, yet it did not make him disliked. On the contrary, it made people feel that he was frank and straightforward, which can only be described as a characteristic of Big Ears.

As expected, Lu Su was greatly surprised upon hearing this. Influenced by Liu Bei, he also smiled and said with a laugh, "I did not expect that my lord would also know Liu Ziyang and even send someone to recruit him."

"My lord, do not worry. I will write a letter and send it to Yangzhou immediately, strongly urging Ziyang to go north to Xuzhou to serve you."

Liu Bei was overjoyed and rose from his seat to express his gratitude.

This eagerness to seek out talent and its emphasis on valuing ability surprised and delighted Lu Su.

"Zijing, who else would you recommend? Please tell me quickly."

Liu Bei, itching to make more recommendations, urged Lu Su to continue making recommendations.

Lu Su respectfully accepted the order: "I live in the East City, which is very close to Jiujiang. I have often heard that there are two heroes in Jiujiang County, both of whom are brave enough to fight ten thousand men. My lord can send an envoy to recruit them and use them as his henchmen."

Liu Bei asked seriously, "Oh, may I ask who these two people are?"

"One of them was named Zhou Tai, courtesy name Youping, from Xia Cai in Jiujiang. The other was named Jiang Qin, courtesy name Gongyi, from Shouchun in Jiujiang. These two gathered local wandering knights and roamed the area, terrorizing the river."

After Lu Su finished his introduction, he felt a little uneasy.

This is because Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were river pirates. Their so-called gathering of wandering knights was no different from a band of thieves. They roamed the area and terrorized the river, clearly indicating that they were a river pirate gang.

However, these two men were indeed valiant and brave, and were also familiar with the water conditions, making them natural-born water generals.

It was a crucial element in the strategic plan that Lu Su later wanted to present.

Therefore, Lu Su observed Liu Bei's expressions and considered how to mediate if Liu Bei was displeased by their identities as river pirates.

But when Lu Su looked up, he only saw Liu Bei's profile.

It turned out that Liu Bei had actually turned his head to look at Liu Feng.

Lu Su was somewhat bewildered, unable to understand the situation. Did Liu Feng have to listen to Liu Feng's opinion when choosing people?
Fortunately, Liu Bei quickly realized what was happening and turned to Lu Su with a smile, saying, "To be honest, Zijing, I have heard about these two men before and have already sent envoys to recruit them. News will be back soon."

Lu Su's expression changed slightly, but he was inwardly shocked. These people were carefully selected by Lu Su as the first major gift he wanted to present to Liu Bei.

But who could have imagined that Liu Bei would actually recruit them all?

Liu Bei, a man from the north, had only been in Xuzhou for a few months, and half of that time he actually stayed in Yuzhou. How could he know so much about my Xu and Yang provinces?

Lu Su originally thought he had a high opinion of Liu Bei, but at this moment he realized that he might have underestimated this warlord from Youzhou.

Don't underestimate this information gap. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, when communication was difficult and information transmission relied entirely on manpower, information was even more precious than money.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying that a letter from home is worth a fortune.

This statement not only expresses the importance and affection for family letters, but also truly measures the human and material resources required to deliver a letter from home across thousands of miles.

Lu Su secretly elevated Liu Bei's status once again; his intelligence capabilities alone were enough to justify increased investment.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Su couldn't help but ask tentatively, "I didn't expect that my lord, having only been in charge of Xuzhou for a little over a month, would already know so many heroes from Huai and Si. How can we, the people of Huai and Si, not be grateful for the importance my lord attaches to Huai and Si?"

Liu Bei laughed happily, but after laughing, he explained to Lu Su, "Zijing, you flatter me. I have just taken charge of Xuzhou, and although I am eager to recruit heroes from Xuzhou, I do not know where to start."

Immediately afterward, under Lu Su's even more puzzled gaze, Liu Bei pointed at Liu Feng and said, "Please forgive my rudeness, Zijing, but the three people you just recommended, including yourself, were all recommended by my son."

This time, Lu Su truly lost his composure, shocked to the point of losing his composure for the first time.

How can this be?

Since he intended to accept Liu Bei's offer of service, he naturally needed to know something about Liu Bei.

As far as he knew, Liu Bei's eldest son, Liu Feng, had been in Hebei until a month ago when he finally arrived in Xuzhou.

But Liu Bei actually said that all of these people, including him, were recommended to him by Liu Feng for recruitment.

Lu Su instinctively thought Liu Bei was lying.

But Lu Su was no ordinary man. He quickly realized that Liu Bei had no reason to lie.

Even if Liu Bei wanted to help his son gain fame, there was no need to use such a foolish method.

There is only one conclusion: what Liu Bei said is true.

Looking at the proud and arrogant expression on Liu Bei's face, Lu Su could already tell that he was telling the truth.

Lu Su's curious gaze fell on Liu Feng. He couldn't understand how such a young man could know so much about the heroes of Huai and Si.

Liu Feng felt Lu Su's gaze and returned a smile: "My father has always been eager to find talented people, so after I came to Xuzhou, I spared no effort to inquire about the names of worthy people and was able to recommend them to my father."

Lu Su suddenly realized, his face showing an expression of understanding.

But he didn't believe a single word of it!
If Liu Bei's abrupt words and actions just now were the truth, then the boy's seemingly reasonable explanation was a lie!

However, the other party was Liu Bei's own son. Since the other party did not want to talk, Lu Su could not very well force the young master to talk with his sword.

Lu Su then exclaimed with a look of sudden realization, "Our lord and his son are so eager to seek out talented people; this is truly a blessing for the scholars of Huai and Si!"

(End of this chapter)